A leading member of Egypt’s most prominent opposition coalition, the National Salvation Front, has ruled out the possibility that the front may be represented in the next cabinet reshuffle expected within days.
Mohamed Abul Ghar, chairman of the Social Democratic Party called for a “neutral government to ensure fair parliamentary elections” during a call with Pakinam al-Sharqawy, a political assistant to President Mohamed Morsy.
A reshuffle of the Cabinet will take place early next week, Prime Minister Hesham Qandil said in remarks published in state newspaper Al-Ahram's website on Monday. News reports speculated that the changes will cover five ministries as well as some governorates.
"We are looking forward to assign the Ministry of Interior and local services to fully transparent and neutral personalities, as well as changing the prime minister who many agree has been a failure," Abul Ghar told al-Jazeera Mubasher Misr on Tuesday.
"There have been neutral prime ministers since the revolution, such as al-Ganzouri and Sharaf," he said, "and we can find thousands like those."
Abul Ghar said the NSF rejects what he described as the "Brotherhoodization" of governors’ posts, saying that the Muslim Brotherhood’s predominance in those posts "damages democracy and raises questions about their transparency."
Abul Ghar denied the possibility that the NSF may be part of the new reshuffle. "We have not been offered any posts, and we would not accept them anyway. We want a neutral government to ensure fair elections."
The front will compete in the polls, expected to take place in October, once transparency is guaranteed, he said.
Edited translation from Al-Masry Al-Youm
